The present invention relates generally to furniture, and more particularly to furniture which is a composite of a branched or forked tree member and other finished wood members fashioned to form a structurally strong and aesthetically pleasing article of furniture.
Many articles of furniture, including chairs, loveseats, rockers, coffee tables, end tables, kitchen tables, and beds have been made from a combination of natural materials by our pioneer forefathers, and more recently by contemporary artists in response to a renewed interest in this rustic type of furniture as a utilitarian art form. Some of the more recent designs are often referred to as "twig furniture," with the term "twig" used broadly to encompass varying sizes of tree branches and trunk members which generally retain their bark in the finished furniture.
The contemporary designs include furniture constructed totally of twigs, such as: straight twigs of burled lodge pole pine, maple and juniper; bent twigs of willow, maple and hickory; and combinations of straight and bent twigs. In combination with these various types of twigs, other natural materials are also used in these contemporary furniture designs, including oak slats, cotton Shaker tape, leather and rawhide.
Many of these items of furniture, and particularly the chairs, require a multitude of twig pieces for bracing and supporting the chair legs to provide a chair which is strong enough to support a person. Such chairs are costly and time consuming to manufacture due to the multitude of pieces required. Many of the techniques used to construct twig furniture include the use of green unseasoned twigs, which upon seasoning often shrink, twist and crack, detracting from the structural integrity of the chair.
Thus, a need exists for an improved article of twig furniture, which is directed toward overcoming, and not susceptible to, the above limitations and disadvantages.